Edler Garnet Hawkins was born in the Bronx in 1908 to parents who had moved to New York City from North Carolina and Virginia.

[2] Among his mentors and influences at the seminary were President Henry Sloane Coffin, Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, and Harry F.

[2] As minister, Hawkins, who had garnered the nickname of "Renaissance Man," oversaw the growth of St. Augustine from a small church to a significant institution in the Harlem–Bronx community, with over 1,000 members.

[1] Following World War II, Hawkins became more involved on a national level within the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.

[1][4] Following his term as moderator, Hawkins attended the 1968 Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Uppsala, Sweden as the UPCUSA's representative.